EDMONTON – A dispute at the Ukrainian Dnipro Senior Citizens Home almost had Eva Makowichuk packing her bags.
The 81 year-old was served an eviction notice on March 15, which said she would have to leave by the end of the month because she broke the rules at her seniors home by meeting with tenants in common areas with the purpose of weakening the housing board’s authority, as well as affecting tenants wellbeing.
Makowichuk, who argues she was just having tea with friends, is also accused of harassing tenants. She denies that, though, and claims she is the one who’s actually getting bullied.
Seniors advocate Carol Wodak, with Continuing Care Watch, agrees.
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“Eva has certainly been wronged and I would argue that she’s been targeted,” says Wodak.
“I think this kind of an incident shows us how vulnerable seniors can be when they have limited resources and are frail – it’s very frightening,” she adds.
Given that she’s recovering from skin cancer and has family out of town, Makowichuk says the eviction notice was a lot to handle and came with no warning.
The chairman of the board that oversees the seniors home begs to differ, however. She claims the notice was a last resort after years of warnings and meetings to try to resolve any disputes between the tenant and other seniors.
Despite that, Makowichuk’s evacuation notice has been stayed – for now.
“Our understanding is that this has been an ongoing issue and there have been repeated attempts to resolve the issue in the past and it hasn’t occured,” says Parker Hogan with Municipal Affairs. “The management board now bringing in trained mediators next week to work out a resolution.”
The two sides will meet on April 5th in an effort to resolve their long-standing dispute.
With files from Laurel Clark, Global News
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